Home Secretary Scraps Longer Settlement Wait for Care Workers

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has abandoned plans that would have forced migrant care workers already living in the UK to wait up to 15 years for permanent settlement. Under the original proposal, which aimed to manage the high volume of arrivals following the post-Brexit migration spike known as the “Boriswave,” most migrants faced an increase in their wait for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five years to 10 or 15 years. ILR, also known as settlement, gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like and apply for benefits if they are eligible. Last November, Mahmood announced plans to delay settlements in response to concerns over the number of people approaching eligibility, in the wake of record post-Brexit net migration figures under the previous Conservati.

The policy reversal follows significant internal pressure from Labour MPs, who argued that applying these changes retrospectively was “un-British” and risked exacerbating chronic staff shortages within the care sector. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner was among those who criticized the move, noting that changing the requirements for those already working in the country would effectively shift the goalposts for migrants who arrived under different expectations.

Under the revised framework announced in the House of Commons, care workers earning a minimum of £25,000 annually who arrived in the UK before May 2025 will maintain their eligibility for settlement after a “five year path.” Addressing the chamber, Mahmood maintained that settlement “should not be automatic, it should be earned,” but described the current adjustment as a “fair resolution” for the industry.

The Home Office has defended its broader strategy to manage population growth, noting that net migration added approximately 2.6 million people to the UK population between 2021 and 2024.

Current department estimates suggest that between 1.3 million and 2.2 million people are expected to settle in the country between 2026 and 2030, with a central forecast of 1.9 million. Despite the concession for care workers, the government insists that hundreds of thousands of other migrants will still face longer waits before qualifying for residency.

The opposition Conservatives have labeled the policy change a “U-turn,” warning that the revised approach could cost taxpayers billions of pounds. When questioned on whether she had retreated from her earlier commitments, the Home Secretary rejected the characterization of her decision as a U-turn, emphasizing that the majority of foreign nationals will still be subject to extended residency requirements. She replied “I don’t accept that”, adding that some 500,000 people in the UK “will not now settle at five years”, asked by whether she had u-turned on her earlier promises.